AMD will sell its Austin campus to raise cash

CHIP DESIGNER AMD is planning to sell its primary Texas campus to raise between $150m and $200m.

Last year AMD sold its Sunnyvale headquarters and leased it back in order to continue operating from the same location. Now the firm is looking to do the same with its much larger Austin, Texas campus that houses around 2,000 staff to raise cash as it tries to get into the ARM server and tablet markets.

While AMD's headquarters are in Sunnyvale, most work actually gets done on its 60 acre Austin campus, though it still maintains the former ATI offices in Markham, Ontario, which it also leases. AMD is hoping to enter a similar leaseback deal in order to continue working at the campus.

AMD faced a tough 2012, reporting significant financial and staff losses and some analysts have mentioned the firm's cash position.

While the company's sales of real estate might sound like a desperate move, it isn't in the property business and given the challenges AMD faces getting into the ARM server and tablet markets, and in its existing desktop and laptop lines for both CPUs and GPUs, the firm can do with having $200m to spend rather than leaving it tied up in real estate.

AMD is expected to launch its third generation Steamroller chips later this year and previously said its ARM chips will appear in 2014.

All of this means the firm might dip into its cash reserves during 2013 as it will launch relatively few new products this year to help boost sales. µ